What Did You Say?

Blog-08-04Voice recognition software has a long way to go.  Every now and then I foolishly assume that dictating some text into my phone will save me some time, but invariably it takes me so long to correct the result that I might as well have typed it to begin with!

I wonder if God doesn’t sometimes “feel” that way about us as we consistently misinterpret His word. We seem to hear what we want to hear; we ignore certain words such as “not” in “thou shalt not.”

Kids often have trouble accurately repeating the words that they hear. I have heard many “adaptations” of the Act of Contrition from them over the years. Here’s an example, containing some of the common mistakes I’ve heard from “out of the mouths of babes”:

O my God, I am partly sorry for having defended thee, and I contest all my sins not only because of the plains of hell, but most of all because they defend thee, my God, who aren’t worthy of all my love. I firmly revolve with the help of disgrace to contest my sins, amend my life and live as I would.

I remember as a child wondering why we called the Holy Spirit a parakeet (instead of the paraclete), and thinking that the Our Father said, “give us this stay our daily bread.” Kids are like that. They hear, but not always accurately; sometimes it takes years to correct the errors. I still hear some adults say that on Good Friday the clergy are prostate on the floor, instead of prostrate.

Enjoy this video, which pokes fun at voice recognition software. Recognize that we also commit some laughable errors in speech and hearing. Thank goodness God knows what we’re saying!

2 Replies to “What Did You Say?”

  1. It is good that Our Good LORD knows what we are to say even before we open our lips. It is the humdrum of the modern ‘noise’ that prevents us from from recognizing and understanding HIS gentle WORD in each of us. It must be very frustrating. It is good that Our Good LORD is very patient, infinitely patient with us. It is good that I am not GOD else I would disintegrate and annihilate those who would not hear me. Thank GOD, GOD is GOD!

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